Monday, December 31, 2018

#Review: THE DUKE I ONCE KNEW by Olivia Drake


  3.5 stars of 5 stars

Maxwell Bryce, the Duke of Rothwell, hasn't been back to his ducal seat in 15 years, not since the tragic death of his mother. Due to unforeseen circumstances, he and his guests land there, and Max comes face-to-face with his childhood love, Miss Abby Linton. Abby who is nearing 30 years old is tired of being shuttled between her siblings. She loves taking care of her nieces and nephews, but she wants to take charge of her life. She becomes the governess to Lady Gwendolyn, the duke's younger sister. Max hasn't been home for years and Abby is content to go into service without worrying about running into her first love who deserted her 15 years ago.

This is the first book I've read by Ms. Drake. The plot moved along well. I liked Abby and was happy to see her finally stand up for herself. I detested her family though. They were selfish and treated Abby like a servant. I have mixed feelings about Max. I wanted to love him, but I found him to be shallow. He basically ignored his beloved sister for years while he lived the bachelor/rake life in London. It was only by happenstance that he ended up at home and even then, he didn't spend much time with her. I did enjoy the second chance at love aspect of the story between Max and Abby and there were some good scenes full of tension and angst. While there was an HEA, I would have liked an epilogue to see how her family reacted to her new status.

I received a copy of the book in exchange for a fair and honest review and was not obligated to leave a review.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Award-winning author Olivia Drake begins her new Unlikely Duchesses series with THE DUKE I ONCE KNEW (St. Martin’s Paperbacks; December 31, 2018). With compelling characters and skillful plot twists, Drake’s latest novel will take your breath away.

First love is always the sweetest…

For years, Abigail Linton devoted herself to caring for her parents and her siblings’ children. Now, eager to create a life of her own, Abby seizes upon a position as a governess on a neighboring estate. Unfortunately, her absentee employer is Maxwell Bryce, the Duke of Rothwell, the notorious rake who once broke her youthful heart. But since he hasn’t set foot on his estate for fifteen years, Abby assumes she’ll never have to lay eyes on him ever again.

Then, from out of nowhere, Max appears. He is stunned to come face to face with the girl next door he fell for years ago—before he went away, and she stopped writing to him … even though Abby swears that he is the one who left her without a word. Could it be that this spirited, witty spinster has won Max’s heart all over again—and that they may have a second chance at love?



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Olivia Drake is the author of the Cinderella Sisterhood series (Seducing the Heiress, Never Trust a Rogue, Scandal of the Year, If the Slipper Fits, Stroke of Midnight, Abducted by the Prince, Bella and the Beast, His Wicked Wish, and The Scandalous Flirt). She has been a member of Romance Writers of America since 1981, and her novels have won the Golden Heart Award, Best Historical Romantic Suspense and Best Regency Historical from Romantic Times. She has also won the prestigious RITA award. She currently resides in Houston, TX.

Author website: http://oliviadrake.com/
Author Twitter: @OliviaDrake1

SMP Romance Twitter: @SMPRomance or @heroesnhearts

Saturday, December 29, 2018

#Review: DUKE OF KISSES by Darcy Burke


  5 of 5 stars

David Langley, Earl of St. Ives, never thought he'd have the title just yet, but with the untimely death of his beloved father, he must adjust to his new life. That includes keeping a promise to his dying father that he would marry the daughter of his father's best friend. At the time, David would have agreed to anything to ease his father's suffering. All that changed when during a chance encounter in the woods, he meets Miss Frances Snowden. Fanny has brought David back-to-life after his father's death, but when they first meet, they both lie about who they are. When they finally meet again at a ton event, David is very pleased to see that Fanny was not a housemaid as she had claimed. With their feelings growing for each other, can David ignore his promise to his father and give up the woman he loves?

The story of David and Fanny is my favorite story in the series. Ms. Burke has written an intriguing story. I loved how they met and then reconnected again in London. There were so many reasons why they shouldn't be together, including Fanny's humble beginnings and David's interfering mother and uncle. The story takes a number of twists and turns and just when you think you know who the villain is, Ms. Burke throws in another surprise. Fans of regency romances will definitely enjoy this book.

I received this book in exchange for a fair and honest review and was not obligated to leave a review.



Friday, December 28, 2018

#Excerpt: FOR THE BLOOD by Debbie Cassidy


For the Blood
Debbie Cassidy
(For the Blood, #1)
Publication date: December 27th 2018
Genres: Adult, Post-Apocalyptic, Romance, Urban Fantasy

Stay alive at all costs. No attachments, no looking back, no emotion.
The last thing my father gave me was a key. No explanation, no details, just a key. The last thing he asked of me was to take the key to a set of co-ordinates. But survival in a fallen world filled with Feral isn’t easy. The Fangs and the Claws, once upstanding members of society are now slave to the virus, hunting indiscriminately under a perpetually full moon.
There is no hope. There is no haven. Not alone. Not until them.
They are a new breed of monster—beasts of both fang and fur. Unaffected by the sickness, they crave only one thing, and it runs through my veins. Survive, my father said. Look out for no one except yourself. But sometimes the only way to survive is to make attachments. Sometimes the only way to live is to accept a dance with death. And right now, for me, the path to survival is in the blood.
Here’s to hoping it doesn’t kill me.
The Vampire Diaries meets The Walking Dead in this Post-Apocalyptic Urban Fantasy with a slow burn Why Choose romance

EXCERPT:
Had the stars always been this bright? Or maybe impending death was lifting a veil from my eyes. The steady pump of my blood seeping out of my many wounds and into the dry, cracked earth and my ragged, irregular breath were the only sounds in the cold, still night. The Feral were down, but they’d taken me with them.
Laughter bubbled up my throat, a sound filled with life, if only I could move.
It would be over soon. No more fighting. No more loss. No more pain. The stars called to me, and I watched, counting them as my vision blurred in and out of focus, as my life blood fled my body as if it were a curse. How long before a person bled out?
Sunshine and the scent of freshly cut grass. Kisses, sweet kisses and toffee popcorn, hot cocoa under the stars in the compound garden… Memories of safer times. Happy memories that usually made me feel better, but nope, sorry, still feeling bad.
So sorry, Tobias. So sorry, Dad.
The crunch of boots echoed through the silence, invasive and intrusive. A shadow fell over me. Cold hands touched my face and startling gray eyes blocked out the stars.
The Fang from the storeroom, the one who’d bit me. Uninfected but hungry. Was he going to finish me off? But he was surveying the land around me, his brow creased in a neat frown. He was big, and his rugged, stubbled face hid the perfectly formed lips that had sucked on my neck not long ago.
“You Fang …” The word ended in a slur. “Bit me …”
His attention snapped back to me, and his eyes shone like pennies in the dark. I reached up with a strength I didn’t know I had and touched his chilly jaw. My fingers, deathly pale against his tanned skin, left a bloody trail as they slipped away. My blood had put color back in his cheeks and now that same blood was seeping into the ground, wasted. Was it getting darker?
Arms slipped under me, and my body was torn from the cold, dead earth. Where his hands had been chilled, his body was warm. He cradled me against a wide, muscular chest, and the heat seeped into me, reviving, urging me to live. The scent of cedar competed with the coppery smell of my blood. His nostrils flared, and then he pulled me close, dipped his head, and swept a rough tongue over the wound at my neck. The wound he’d made. Fire shot through me, searing my veins and tearing a hoarse scream from my throat. His mouth latched onto me and horror swelled my heart.
No. Not again. But there was no bite. No draw of blood. This wasn’t the kiss of death, it was life.

Author Bio:
Debbie Cassidy lives in England, Bedfordshire, with her three kids and very supportive husband. Coffee and chocolate biscuits are her writing fuels of choice, and she is still working on getting that perfect tower of solitude built in her back garden.
Obsessed with building new worlds and reading about them, she spends her spare time daydreaming and conversing with the characters in her head - in a totally non psychotic way of course. She writes Urban Fantasy, Fantasy and Reverse Harem Fantasy. All her books contain plenty of action, romance and twisty plots.


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Wednesday, December 26, 2018

ONLY .99: LOVE AND KISSES CHRISTMAS COLLECTION by Debra Elizabeth




3 clean and sweet Christmas stories that will make you believe in love.

Christmas Wedding Wishes
After being left at the altar, Callie Spencer needed a fresh start. She accepted a position as the Children's Librarian in a small Vermont town. Single dad Tom Sullivan was too busy raising his 4-year-old daughter to look for love, but all that changed when he meets Callie. Can these two fragile souls find love and heal their broken hearts?

Second Chance Christmas
Megan Duffy needed to get away after a broken engagement and a few days at her family's cabin could be just what she needed. She was looking forward to the peace and quiet, that is, until she meets hunky store owner Ryker McCabe. Can Ryker put the light back in her eyes and heal her broken heart?

Mistletoe Kisses
Petite Ellie Davison had the worst luck when it came to dating. Not wanting to endure any more bad first dates, she swore off dating, that is, until she met the impossibly handsome Jared at her friend's wedding.

Corporate lawyer Jared Castian was not pleased when his Washington firm transferred him to Boston to oversee a complicated merger. He was on the fast-track to making partner and had no time to date. When a chance meeting at his friend's wedding paired him with bridesmaid Ellie Davison, he found himself captivated by the pretty brunette. Was Ellie the one that would open his heart to love?

Buy links:




Tuesday, December 25, 2018

Merry Christmas!

One of my favorite Christmas movies has always been Charlie Brown's Christmas. Do you have a favorite movie you watch over and over again?




Sending out love and friendship to all my family and friends! Merry Christmas!

Monday, December 24, 2018

'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, Christmas Eve 2018

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled down for a long winter's nap,

 

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;

"Now, DASHER! now, DANCER! now, PRANCER and VIXEN!
On, COMET! on CUPID! on, DONDER and BLITZEN!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.  


 
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my hand, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

 

His eyes -- how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;





He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
"HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD-NIGHT!"
 


Saturday, December 22, 2018

#Review: NOT THE DUKE'S DARLING by Elizabeth Hoyt


3 of 5 stars

I usually love Ms. Hoyt's book, but this one has left me with mixed feelings. The beginning starts out with a bang with Freya de Moray, a Wise Woman, helps a young woman and her infant son escape a ruthless brother-in-law. During the escape, they jump into a ducal carriage. The owner turns out to be none other than a childhood friend, Christopher Renshaw, the Duke of Harlowe. We learn that Freya detests Harlowe for a scandal that happened when Chris and Freya's brother Ran were 18 years old. Now 15 years later, Freya still harbors an intense hatred for him.

The premise for the book held such great promise, but it took most of the book to learn Freya's role with the Wise Women and what the scandal was about. There's still an underlying mystery to the scandal that was never solved so I suspect it will be the underlying theme in the series. Harlowe's PTSD with small spaces add more mystery and we don't learn why until 3/4 of the way in the book. I'm glad I kept reading until the end, but even then, I was disappointed that there was so little explanation for some of the overarching plot points.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review and was not obligated to leave a review.


Friday, December 21, 2018

#Excerpt: THE STONE AWAKENED by Judith Sterling


The Stone Awakened
Judith Sterling
(Guardians of Erin, #2)
Publication date: December 19th 2018
Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Young Adult

Since moving to Ireland, Ashling Donoghue has tackled one challenge after another. Now the mystery of her parents’ disappearance seems unsolvable. Are they dead or only missing? No one—not even the godlike Breasals—has a clue.
Hope and fear war inside her, but she’s determined to find answers and stay strong for her siblings. Even as she hones newfound powers, her banshee-in-training sister Deirdre needs her support.
Ashling could use a little help herself.
She’s struggling to navigate her first romance, and while Aengus Breasal stirs her body, mind, and soul, his nemesis Lorcan does too. Both men harbor secrets about her past life as Caer. One has ties to Aoife, the scheming wind demon whose influence is on the rise.
As the Stone of Destiny awakens, so does the conflict within.

EXCERPT:
Thunder shook the night as the Dullahan’s black stallion reared beneath him on the sweeping lawn below. The horseman thrust his severed head toward the sky and called out the names of those he hunted.
“Dylan Donoghue! Maeve Donoghue!”
Powerless to stop him, I watched from the bedroom window. The glass panes infused my palms with the chill of death itself. Out of sight, my parents screamed, then fell silent. The sound of laughter followed.
Exultant. Spiteful. Malignant.
Aoife! The wind demon whose foul plot shattered my family with a single blow.
Hate and despair welled inside me. “No!”
“Ashling, wake up!” My sister shook me awake.
She switched on the lamp between our beds, and I scanned the room. The same sash windows as in the dream. The same luxurious décor in shades of periwinkle, white, and gray. Even my slippers beside the bed were the same. But the night was quiet, and there was no immediate danger.
Deirdre tucked her long, blonde hair behind her ears and gave me a knowing look. “Another nightmare about the Dullahan?”
Nodding, I wiped the sweat from my brow. “And Aoife.”
“Sounds almost as bad as my dream the night he took Mom and Dad.”
“We don’t know he took them.”
“We don’t know he didn’t.”
“They’re not dead!” Dread clutched my heart, and I pushed out a long breath to calm myself. “They can’t be.”


Author Bio:
Judith Sterling’s love of history and passion for the paranormal infuse everything she writes. Flight of the Raven, Soul of the Wolf, and Shadow of the Swan are part of her medieval romance series, The Novels of Ravenwood. The Cauldron Stirred and The Stone Awakened are part of her young adult paranormal series, Guardians of Erin.
Written under Judith Marshall, her nonfiction books—My Conversations with Angels and Past Lives, Present Stories—have been translated into multiple languages. She has an MA in linguistics and a BA in history, with a minor in British Studies. Born in that sauna called Florida, she craved cooler climes, and once the travel bug bit, she lived in England, Scotland, Sweden, Wisconsin, Virginia, and on the island of Nantucket.
She currently lives in Salem, Massachusetts with her husband and their identical twin sons.


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Thursday, December 20, 2018

#Excerpt: DERRICK by Russell


Derrick
Russell
Publication date: November 27th 2018
Genres: Adult, Thriller

In Hyde Park, a movie theater erupts in flames on a bitterly cold November evening.
It seems like a job for the fire department, but under Captain Creighton’s direct orders, Detective Gavin Nolan and his partner, Derrick Williamson, must investigate. Arriving on the chaotic scene, they find multiple fatalities—but one of the victims is most peculiar…
Gavin soon discovers that this fire wasn’t the first of its kind. The arsonist has set ablaze other buildings around Chicago, and more female victims left in the same gruesome state have been discovered.
Gavin and Derrick determine that the arsonist is not an arsonist at all—but a sinister serial killer with an agenda.
Juggling the unexpected events in his personal life, Gavin digs into the locations of the explosions. At the same time, Derrick probes into the victims’ lives, searching for any possible connection.
However, when the next explosion occurs, the killer leaves behind a significant object, and Derrick becomes noticeably reserved. Gavin soon uncovers an enigmatic link, one that points to Derrick’s military past. A time that his partner had wished to forget. Yet, to catch the vicious maniac, Derrick must tell Gavin everything.
In a suspenseful, gripping ride to the end, it is up to Gavin to rescue his partner from the clutches of a killer. But will he make it in time?
WARNING: This book contains graphic scenes, explicit language, and violent sexual situations.
EXCERPT:
Alarmed, the woman’s eyes opened. Her nerves twitched slightly, as if an electric shock rattled her body.
Instantly, an eerie darkness consumed her, and an unusual stillness blanketed her surroundings.
Where am I? the woman wondered.
With her instinctual medical training, she began immediately diagnosing her own condition: blurry vision, raspy breath, citrus acidic taste at the back of her throat, and weak muscles. The signs were a tell-all. She had been drugged. Most likely either clonazepam or estazolam.
As her thick braids fell in front of her eyes, she realized that her body was hanging in midair. Above her, a rope bound her hands. The burning strain in her deltoids ached deep into her lower back.
The air was unusually frigid. Her entire body was trembling. She looked down and realized she was completely naked.
Who took off my clothes? she thought, her mind racing with a fresh wave of panic.
All she could remember was getting home from a run in the cold rain of a late November day that had chilled her to the core. Since the presentation of her dissertation was only days away, she relieved the building stress with those exhilarating runs. They were especially liberating knowing that she had to head back to the university lab. Entering the darkened house, she had sworn she’d left the light on. She recalled a quick shadow slipping just behind her in her peripheral vision. She’d felt a sudden blow to head, had fallen against the wooden banister—
What day is it? The presentation was on Saturday. Did she miss it? A sense of dread engulfed her, then fear. All the seemingly endless months and years of planning her project, all the meetings with that arrogant, dimwitted professor, all those countless hours in the lab…it would all be for nothing. Most importantly, all the sacrifices she’d made with her family, spending so much time away from her daughter—and well, her husband too— would be just a waste.
In the inky darkness, a slight shift of movement awakened her senses.
She was not alone. Attempting to say something, nothing came out except a low groan from her lips. The large figure—a man, no doubt—stopped for a moment. Did he hear her? See her?
Tilting her head slightly, more of her thick dark braids fell to the right side of her face. As her eyes were adjusting to the murkiness, she detected a figure near a square object. A red light blinked incessantly, and with her cloudy vision, it seemed like a floating, pulsating blob. Turning away, a sudden surge of vertigo overwhelmed her and she forced her eyes shut.
As she opened her eyes again, the woman saw a faint light seeping from under the cracks of a doorway on the other side of the space. It looked like long skeletal fingers creeping closer to her.
Footsteps approached her. Suddenly, a smooth gloved hand aggressively grabbed her ankle.
“Hey,” she attempted weakly. Instead it sounded more like “Haammph.”
Below her, the figure worked quickly, tying a rope tightly around first her left ankle, then the right. She wanted nothing more than to kick him as hard as she could, but the drug inhibited her, and her noodle-like legs hung uselessly. As the man worked rapidly, his broad shoulders made him look bulky next to her thin legs. His jerking movements triggered the scent of sour urine that rose from her own skin and stung her nose, and a tear dripped from her eye. Once he finished, he scooted back and moved his head to and fro. Was he on his knees? She couldn’t tell from her angle.
The sound of stone scraped along the floor.
The woman concluded that escape was improbable, and her heart began to race despite the coma-inducing toxin pumping through her bloodstream. A mumbled whimper came to her lips.
Standing up, the man straightened to his full height. His dark clothing constricted tighter against his fit frame, and she could feel his gaze upon her. Was he admiring her? Shaking a braid out of her left eye, she saw that his face seemed unusually dark, but his white skin was visible around the perimeter of his oval face. His chin was rough, scruffy with hair. Was that a beard? Either way, his face was covered in…makeup? She wasn’t sure. Suddenly, he turned away from her and disappeared farther into the shadows.


Author Bio:
Russell has been writing for the majority of his life. Slipping into alternative universes allows him to enjoy the process of creativity from the novel’s conception to its final draft. Currently, he lives in South Texas with his wife, two kids and several cats.


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Wednesday, December 19, 2018

#Excerpt: LIBRARY ABSOLUTION by Jennifer Derrick


Library of Absolution
Jennifer Derrick
(Legacy of the Book Mesmer, #1)
Published by: Crimson Tree Publishing
Publication date: December 17th 2018
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Alarick Brandon is the powerful wizard who operates The Keep, a refuge for magical people fleeing the persecution of the Ministry. A bitter realist, Alarick knows it’s only a matter of time until the Ministry succeeds in eradicating magic from the world—and exterminating all magical beings—so he has been careful to avoid any personal involvement with the people who pass through his sanctuary.
But when Elissa Stone arrives at The Keep, her village a smoldering ruin, and only her magical talent and a forbidden library left to her name, Alarick’s ordered world descends into chaos. Elissa is a Book Mesmer, a magical talent long believed extinct. She can enchant books, making them indestructible, unreadable…even deadly to unauthorized readers. But while her magic can secure a legacy for future magical generations, it’s not a skill that’s good in a fight, and certainly not one that Alarick sees any real use for. But there’s something compelling about a woman who defies the Ministry’s edicts against female literacy, and she seems determined to prove that knowledge is a weapon in its own right…
The first installment in an enticing new fantasy series by author Jennifer Derrick, The Library of Absolution is a compelling story of perseverance and determination in the face of persecution, in a Dark Age where hope is lost—and knowledge is the only thing left to fight for.

EXCERPT:
“You told me you left to look for books,” Alarick said.
“I did, in part. That wasn’t a total fabrication. I figured if I was leaving I might as well make the effort. If I was going to get killed by the Ministry, it should be in the service of something larger than myself. Fool that I was,” she whispered.
Alarick ignored the last part. She was only stating a fact. There was no need for him to comment further on her foolishness.
“But you had no intention of returning?” he asked. “Because of something you found in my library?”
The thought of her leaving with no intention to return gutted him. It was bad enough she’d wanted to leave at all; to put her safety at risk for the sake of some books. It was bad enough that he had failed to keep her safe; to understand what she meant to do until it was too late.
But even at the worst of it, he’d believed she intended to return to him. To the Keep. That was why he’d gone after her, because he believed she still wanted to be here. That she’d intended to run away forever was unthinkable. That he’d risked his life for someone who had run from him, who wanted nothing to do with him, was galling.
He choked back his rage and sorrow, replacing them with cool disdain.
“Well, then, are you going to tell me just what was so terrible that it would make you flee and never come back? I’m aware that nothing in that library paints me in a flattering light, but you already knew of my unpleasantness. Surely the disjointed ramblings of a young man could not be quite so damning,” Alarick said.
Of course, he knew the truth. There were some secrets in there so damning he could imagine exactly why she wanted to run from him. It was why he kept that room protected. Damn her for finding it. Damn her for finding him.
She turned her head away from him. Not that it mattered. She couldn’t see him. But he wasn’t going to let her damn his soul and cast him out of her life without at least facing him while she did it. He reached over and with gentle pressure turned her chin toward him.
“If you expect me to forgive you for your trespass, you will at least face me while you tell me exactly what sort of monster you believe me to be,” he said.
“I’d rather you tell me the story as the man you are now, not the boy who did the things I read. Tell me there’s a better ending to your story. Tell me that you are not the monster.”
He laughed at that.
“Would that I could,” he said. “But since you read my books, I’m certain you know there is no redemption for me. That is why you left, isn’t it?”
“No. I didn’t leave because I feared you to be irredeemable. My time with you has taught me that there is more to you than the boy in those books. I left because I feared there was no place for me in your story. And that I could not bear.”
He was about to say something, but suddenly he couldn’t remember what it was. What had she said? She hadn’t left because of his past deeds, but because she was afraid he had no place for her? Was that possibly right? He struggled to make sense of it in his brain. He’d expected condemnation, not… Was it disappointment he heard in her voice?
Before he could sort out a proper response, she said, “I’ve read your grimoire. It’s terrifying. Start with why you took such an interest in dark magic and go from there.”
Alarick said nothing at first. Why had he taken an interest in dark magic? The question was better phrased as, “Why not?” He looked at Elissa. She might not be able to see him, but she had an uncanny ability to focus on his face as though she could. And something in her eyes compelled him to tell the story that he’d never told anyone in its entirety.

Author Bio:
Jennifer is a freelance writer and novelist. As a freelancer, she writes everything from technical manuals to articles on personal finance and European-style board games. Her interest in storytelling began when she was six and her parents gave her a typewriter for Christmas and agreed to pay her $.01 per page for any stories she churned out. Such a loose payment system naturally led to a lot of story padding. Broken Fate, her first novel, earned her $2.80 from her parents.
Jennifer lives in North Carolina and, when not writing, can often be found reading, trawling the shelves at the library, playing board games, watching sports, camping, running marathons, and playing with her dog. You can visit her at her official website: JenniferDerrick.com.

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Tuesday, December 18, 2018

#Excerpt: WHAT A WIDOW WANTS by Janna Jaxon


This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Jenna Jaxon will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn commenter.


Widowed by the Battle of Waterloo, the ladies of Lyttlefield Park are returning to London society—with their futures in their own hands . . .

The widowed Lady Stephen Tarkington, Fanny to her friends, has finished mourning her cad of a husband and is ready to enjoy her freedom. The kind of freedom neither a gently bred miss nor a close-watched wife is permitted: dressing up as Aphrodite for a masquerade, drawing gentlemen away from the party, and hinting at late-night assignations with her dance partners. All is going pleasurably according to plan—until the Roman god Fanny kisses during a masquerade turns out to be Matthew, Lord Lathbury, whose proposal she refused years ago . . .

Lathbury is charming, passionate, inventive, everything Fanny wants in a lover—but unfortunately, he’s on the hunt for a wife. He’s more than willing to use all his wicked skills to persuade her back to the altar, but he can’t wait forever. And now Fanny’s position is more precarious than she once thought. If the tongues of the ton set to wagging, it’s possible no offer in the world will save her from ruin. But does she want to be saved? . . .

Buy the book at  
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1516103297/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i6

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/what-a-widow-wants-jenna-jaxon/1128297334


Excerpt:

Heart pounding, Fanny ran on tiptoes in an effort to keep up with him. This was madness. Wherever was he taking her? And what on earth did he have in mind? Oh, but she knew what that was. That deep desire in his eyes told her exactly where his intentions lay. Would she allow him to have his way with her? She didn’t quite recognize him; the mask hid just enough of his face. Still he reminded her of someone. Someone who had been most dear to her what seemed a lifetime ago. But that man had left London, swearing never to return to the ton years before. He’d retreated to his country estate and had not been seen in Town for seven years.

They raced down the corridor, Pollux still in the lead, Castor right behind her. That gave her some comfort. Pollux wouldn’t ravish her in front of his brother, or friend rather. Still, the urgency of his headlong flight, dodging wide-eyed guests left and right, persuaded her that this man would stop at nothing to get her alone.

He turned a corner into a deserted hall and slowed finally. Stopping at a door on the far end, he glanced around then put his hand on the latch. “Keep watch, Cas. No one enters.”

Castor grinned. “Not a soul, Pol. My word as a gentleman.”

Pollux pushed down the latch, opened the door into a shadowy room, and drew her inside.

The flickering fireplace across the room gave the only light. Fanny’s eyes took a moment to adjust to the dimness. A moment in which Pollux pulled her hard against him, crushing her breasts against his unyielding chest. He wrapped his arms around her, pinning her to him, and sank his mouth onto hers.

About the Author:

Jenna Jaxon is a multi-published author of historical romance in all time periods because, she says, “passion is timeless.” She has been reading and writing historical romance since she was a teenager. A romantic herself, Jenna has always loved a dark side to the genre, a twist, suspense, a surprise. She tries to incorporate all of these elements into her own stories. She’s a theatre director when she’s not writing and lives in Gloucester, Virginia with her family, including two very vocal cats and one silent one.

Jenna is a PAN member of Romance Writers of America as well as an active member of Chesapeake Romance Writers, her local chapter of RWA. She has four series currently available: The House of Pleasure, set in Georgian England, Handful of Hearts, set in Regency England, and Time Enough to Love, set in medieval England and France, and The Widows’ Club series, also set in Regency England and available from Kensington Publishing in both print and digital.

She currently writes to support her chocolate habit.

Find Jenna Jaxon online:

BLOG: https://jennajaxon.wordpress.com/
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/Jenna_Jaxon
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jenna-Jaxon/146857578723570
AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE: https://www.amazon.com/Jenna-Jaxon/e/B005CHPBD2/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1


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Monday, December 17, 2018

#Excerpt: VENGEANCE by Gail Z. Martin


This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Gail Z. Martin will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.


When undertaker brothers Corran and Rigan Valmonde became outlaw monster hunters and fled beyond the walls of Ravenwood, they thought they had defeated the source of the abominations that killed so many of their friends and loved ones.
But the more successful they become at destroying the creatures, the more they realize a greater evil is at work – larger and more monstrous than they ever could imagine…

Excerpt:

“Did you find the ghost? Could you get rid of it?”

Rigan caught a warning glance from Corran, but his temper burned too hot for him to care. “We found the ghosts—all five of them. And the monster who killed them. Did you know the wheelwright was the creature? Did you give him the children to save your own skins?”

For an instant, shock and fear glinted in the mayor’s eyes before cold calculation took over. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Rigan’s slammed the burlap sack down on the table, and the men jumped, sliding back in their chairs. The rest of the crowd in the common room fell silent.

“I think you knew,” Rigan said, looming over the mayor until the man had to crane his neck and his multiple chins to see. “The ghosts said people in the village helped the monster. Supplied the children for it to eat. Who else could go unnoticed for so long?”

“You’re crazy. That’s… insane,” the mayor sputtered.

“You found them? The missing ones?” A man stood near the back of the pub. From his clothing and the dirt streaks on his pants, he looked like a farmer, probably stopping for a meal after bringing goods to market. His broad shoulders and muscular arms spoke of hard work, and while sun and hardship had weathered his features, Rigan guessed the man might only be a few years older than Corran.

About the Author:

Gail Z. Martin writes epic fantasy, urban fantasy and steampunk for Solaris Books, Orbit Books, Falstaff Books, SOL Publishing and Darkwind Press. Vengeance is the second in the new Darkhurst epic fantasy series. Also new is The Dark Road, the second in the Jonmarc Vahanian Adventures series, and Assassin’s Honor (coming, October 2018), the first in the new Assassins of Landria series.

Her Deadly Curiosities urban fantasy series set in Charleston, SC has a new novel, Tangled Web, and two new collections, Trifles & Folly, and Trifles & Folly 2.

Other work includes the Chronicles Of The Necromancer series, the Fallen Kings Cycle, the Ascendant Kingdoms series, and the alternate history novel Iron & Blood and the Storm & Fury collection (co-authored with Larry N. Martin) She is also the co-author (with Larry) of the Mark Wojcik monster hunter series (Spells, Salt and Steel) and the upcoming Wasteland Marshals series and the Cauldron/Secret Council series from Falstaff Books.

As Morgan Brice, she writes urban fantasy MM paranormal romance. New and upcoming books include Witchbane, Burn, Dark Rivers, Badlands, and Lucky Town.

Website: http://www.GailZMartin.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/GailZMartin
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/WinterKingdoms
Blog: http://www.DisquietingVisions.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/GailZMartin
.

She is also the organizer of the #HoldOnToTheLight campaign: http://www.HoldOnToTheLight.com. Join her email update and never miss a new release—plus get great free stories just for signing up! http://eepurl.com/dd5XLj

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Friday, December 14, 2018

Interview with Christine Grabowski, DICKENSEN ACADEMY


Can you give us a brief overview of your latest book? Is it part of a series?
Dickensen Academy is a young YA contemporary fantasy that bridges the gap between MG and YA. It is about a fourteen-year-old girl, Autumn, who is invited to a fine arts boarding school in the secluded mountains of the Pacific Northwest. However, she soon realizes the faculty is secretly teaching dream telepathy.

As Autumn uncovers more about the dark side of the high school and struggles with its curriculum, she questions whether Dickensen Academy is where she truly belongs. When tragedy strikes, Autumn must learn to believe in her own power and stand up to her greatest fear or risk having her memories destroyed to protect the school’s secrets. 

Although the premise is considered a paranormal or a fantasy, the focus of the book is as much about Autumn’s relationships with her friends and family and her struggles in school and for independence—something many teens can relate to.

The book was written as a standalone with series potential. But now that readers are asking for more, I’m planning to make it into a four-book series, one book for each year of high school.

Are you currently under a traditional publishing contract for future books or do you have manuscripts that you will self-publish? Are you doing both?
Dickensen Academy is traditionally published with a small publisher, The Wild Rose Press. Once I finish the sequel, I will present it to them as well. For non-Dickensen books I will likely try something different. I still dream of getting the huge publishing contract, so my book will be in bookstores around the country. But I would also consider self-publishing because I would like to have more control over parts of the process and higher royalties to help cover marketing expenses.

If you used a graphic designer/publisher’s designer, how involved were you during the creative process for your cover?
At The Wild Rose Press, the authors are involved in the design of the cover up to a point. We fill out a two-page worksheet with our vision of the cover as well as answer many questions about the book such as the mood, the plot, the key characters, etc. Then this worksheet is turned over to a professional graphic designer. Unless we have a huge problem with it, we are encouraged to go with it because the designers know what style of covers work best in the market.

What is your writing process? Do you listen to music or do you like silence?
My ideal environment is Starbucks. It provides the perfect level of background noise without interruption. However, most days I work at home, and the only sounds are my dogs barking or ringing their doorbell to go in and out about fifteen times each hour.

Do you outline your story or just go where your muse takes you?
I am somewhere between a plotter and a pantser. I always begin with some sort of an outline, but it tends to be most detailed at the beginning and the end. Once I start writing, I’m constantly adding to my outline as I come up with more details about my characters and plot.

Do you find it difficult to juggle your time between marketing your current book and writing your next book?
This is a huge struggle, and I’m still trying to get it right. Since I have a marketing degree, I actually enjoy the marketing which is unusual for authors. However, the best thing you can do to market a book is to write a second. Since my time is already limited due to responsibilities with my family, if I spend too much time marketing, there isn’t much time for writing. And for me to get into writing a draft of a book, I find I need large chunks of uninterrupted time.
 
Besides writing, do you have any other passions?
My family is are everything to me. (Human and furry.) I left work to stay at home when I was pregnant with my second child and have enjoyed writing because it’ fslexible, so I can do it around everyone else’s schedules. During the winter we really enjoy skiing as a family. I also have been a runner since I did cross country in high school, so I am working on training our one-year-old wheatens to run with me. Now you can see where Autumn’s interests came from.

Some fun facts about you, which do you prefer – dogs or cats? Chocolate or vanilla? Coffee or Tea? Talk or Text? Day or Night?
Dogs, Chocolate, Coffee, Text, and Mid-Morning

What’s next for you?
Although I wrote Dickensen Academy as a standalone, my readers really want to see more of what takes place at the academy as Autumn gets older. Therefore, I dusted off my old outline (I had originally imagined the story as a four-book series,) and am writing Book Two about her sophomore year. I am also well into the editing phase on a contemporary fairy tale reimagining, so I hope to be able to finish that soon too.

 
BLURB:

Dickensen Academy isn’t a typical boarding school. The faculty is hiding an unbelievable secret within their fine arts program. When Autumn Mattison receives an invitation to attend the high school, she yearns to escape her overbearing father yet remains reluctant to leave her mother and brother. Her doubts fade away when a vivid dream convinces her she belongs there.

Away from home, Autumn discovers a unique school environment that awakens her creative potential, and her new friends become like a second family. However, as she uncovers more about the dark side of the school and struggles with its curriculum, she questions whether Dickensen Academy is truly where she belongs.

When tragedy strikes, Autumn must learn to believe in her own power and stand up to her greatest fear or risk having her memories destroyed to protect the school’s secrets. Caught between secrets and dreams, can she find her true self?

Buy Links:







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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Dickensen Academy is Christine’s debut YA novel. After graduating from the University of Washington, she earned her MBA at the University at Albany. She honed her technical writing skills in marketing and consulting but attributes the creative part of the process to her passion for reading.

When she isn’t reading or writing, Christine can often be found running, skiing, or hiking. She lives in Newcastle, Washington, with her supportive husband, two avid teen readers, and their energetic wheaten terriers.

  
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